Publications

CPAWS believes that conservation should be based on sound science. That's why CPAWS researchers and affiliates are staying on the cutting edge of conservation biology. Here are some of our recent reports.

Recent publications

CPAWS recognizes that public education is the key to good conservation decisions today and in the future.

In the first ever joint assessment of progress on marine protected areas (MPAs) in North America, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the Marine Conservation Institute (MCI) find Canada, Mexico and the USA have a long way to go to collectively and individually reach international and national targets to protect at least 10% of the continental ocean estate.*

In its latest annual report released in advance of Canada Parks Day, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling on Parks Canada to re-focus on its legal obligation to protect nature as the first priority for managing our national parks, and to immediately stop development in Banff and Jasper National Parks.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) has been conducting annual reviews of progress by federal, provincial and territorial governments to protect and recover Canada’s remaining boreal woodland caribou1 populations since 2013, the year after the Recovery Strategy for the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), Boreal population, in Canada2 was issued by the federal government under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

There is a crisis in Canada’s national parks. A rash of commercial development projects have been approved in Banff and Jasper, and similar development pressures are now spilling over into other national parks as well. CPAWS’ Special Report highlights the growing list of commercial developments that are close to final approval, or have already been completed in recent years.

This report assesses Canada’s progress towards our country’s commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and freshwater by 2020, and improve the quality of our parks and other protected areas. Achieving this 2020 target is an important step towards the much largerscale conservation action that’s needed to conserve Canada’s ecosystems in the long term.

The question we pose in this report is ‘how well do Canada’s marine protected areas actually protect ocean ecosystems from industrial activities?’ This seems like a fairly straightforward question, yet it turned out to be much more difficult to answer than we expected, and the information we uncovered is worrying.

This special eco-tourism issue of Canadian Wilderness profiles a few of the great eco-tourism operators who’ve dedicated significant time and effort to CPAWS’ wilderness conservation campaigns over the years.

This report is our second annual review of Canada’s progress in conserving boreal woodland caribou habitat since the 2012 release of the federal recovery strategy for boreal caribou under the Species-at-Risk Act (SARA).

This report is characterized as a state-of-knowledge (SOK) report that summarizes an extensive literature about park visitation and nature connectedness, and how they relate to the goal of building a culture of conservation. It does not purport to be an exhaustive summary of all that is available, but is focused on synthesizing some of the core concepts in order to identify key findings and gaps to help guide further research and evidence-based decision-making. All information is referenced to enable other researchers to further examine the key concepts in order to build a more comprehensive knowledge base. We are indebted to those who have written some of these more comprehensive reviews of literature or critical papers that are at the core of this topic (c.f.1–7). Presented at the World Parks Congress 2014

Canada’s annual Parks Day takes place on July 19th, 2014. Since 2008 CPAWS has issued an annual report reviewing how well Canada has done over the past year in both creating new parks and protecting our existing parks for the benefit of current and future generations of Canadians. Over the years the review has ranged from celebrating significant progress on new parks to noting a slowdown in progress and highlighting
emerging problems. Unfortunately, for the third year in a row, while there were some good news stories, our overall conclusion is that Canada continues to lose ground in creating and protecting our cherished parks.

The ocean supports a tremendous diversity of life from coastal areas to the deep sea, and contains 99% of the space available for life on Earth. From plankton to whales, marine species live in a delicate balance that can easily be disturbed by human activities, and cause a domino effect on species half-way around the world.

This issue of Canadian Wilderness focuses on the importance and value of introducing nature to the next generation.It profiles wonderful reports and photos, along with updates on CPAWS' people and activities across Canada.

In our first annual assessment of how well provinces and territories are doing in meeting their obligations to protect boreal caribou since the federal recovery strategy for the species was released in 2012, the majority get bottom marks for lagging so far behind in protecting one of Canada’s most iconic species at risk.

This issue of Canadian Wilderness commemorates what CPAWS has accomplished in its first half century. It profiles some of the leaders who have built our organization over those 50 years and some of the staff and volunteers who carry on that tradition today.

Canada’s annual Parks Day takes place on July 20, 2013. Since 2008, CPAWS has issued an annual report reviewing how well Canada has done over the past year in both creating parks and protecting these natural treasures for the benefit of current and future generations of Canadians. This year’s report concludes that in the past twelve months, the story of how Canada’s parks are faring has been mixed. Overall, our assessment is that progress on creating and protecting Canada’s parks has taken one step forward and two steps back.

Report on oceans conservation finds Canada has made limited gains in protecting our coastal waters, with the federal government and other levels moving at too slow a pace to meet the challenge issued by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) to protect 12 special marine areas by December 2012.

Canada’s 21st annual Parks Day takes place on July 21, 2012. The date is an opportunity for Canadians to celebrate our spectacular national, provincial and territorial parks, and to reflect on how well we are doing at protecting these natural treasures for the benefit of current and future generations.

CPAWS applauds the December 2009 announcement that the Inuit, Nunavut Government, and the federal government have agreed to launch a feasibility study towards establishing a Parks Canada National Marine Conservation Area in Lancaster Sound, one of the richest marine ecosystems in the Canadian Arctic.

Assessment of the opportunities and challenges involved in conserving ‘ecosystem connectivity’ on the Chignecto isthmus, a narrow land bridge between the two Maritime
Provinces. Authors: Alexander MacDonald, Roberta Clowater.

Éric Hébert-Daly, National Executive Director of CPAWS, and Aran O’Carroll, National Manager of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, presented the organization's views on the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) to the Federal Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on April 27, 2010

"If the caribou die, then we die." These few words speak eloquently to the significance of caribou for northern peoples. They were spoken not by a wise old chief, but by a 13-year-old Dene youth in 2007 during a hearing regarding uranium exploration on the caribou wintering grounds.

Rendezvous with the Wild brings the majesty of Canada's vast boreal landscape to readers across Canada and around the world. Ten of last year's Rendezvous river journeys in Canada's boreal have been captured in a collection of photographs, essays, stories, poems, journal entries, and artwork. The book is edited by best-selling author and CPAWS' 2004 national tour host James Raffan and includes contributions by CPAWS Boreal Patrons and more than 70 prominent Canadians who participated in CPAWS' Boreal Rendezvous 2003. Rendezvous with the Wild - The Boreal Forest is the first hard cover book in North America to be printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper.

Award-winning writer Ed Struzik takes us on a jouney down 10 rivers in the Canadian Arctic, each with its own specially illustrated map. Along the way he describes the people, the landscapes, the wildlife and the history that have made this part of the world such an inspiration to artists and adventurers alike.

"Three Rivers: The Yukon's Great Boreal Wilderness, a small masterpiece released ... by Harbour Publishing, has photographs of the landscape that will take your breath away - and remind you of what it means to be Canadian."Mark Hume, Globe & Mail

This sumptuous coffee table book is packed with awe-inspiring photography, art and fine writings by such notables as Margaret Atwood, Courtney Milne and John Ralston Saul. This book provides an unforgettable tour of the Yukon's northern boreal wonderland rich in grizzlies, wolves, caribou, peregrine falcons, wild waters and wildflowers. The book is a hardcover, measuring 11x10 inches, totalling 148 pages.